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Bvunsluick Jtfr&.ocat*.
by CHARLES DAVIS.]
VOLUME 2m
BRUNSWICK ADVOCATE.
AGENTS.
tSibi Counts. Alexander Richard*, Evq.
Telfair “ Rev. Charles J. Shelton.
Mclntosh “ lames Blue, Esq.
Houston “ B. I. Smith, Esq.
Pulaski “ Norman McDuffie, Erq.
Tttiggs “ William 11. Robinson, Esq.
fVayne “ Robert Howe, Esq.
TERMS.
Three Dollar* in advance — s 4at the end of
the year.
iiO’No subscriptions received fbr a less term
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ed until all arrearages are paid except
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to the paper, must be POST PAID to en
sure attention.
irr ADVERTISEMENTS conspicuously in
serted at One Dollar per twelve lines, or less,
for the first insertion, and Fifty Cents for ev
ery subsequent continuance—Rule and figure
work always double price. Twenty-five per
cent, added, if not paid in advance, or during
the continuance of the advertisement. Those
sent without a specification of the number of
insertions will be published until ordered out,
and charged accordingly.
Legal Advertisements published at the
usual rates.
THE undersigned, land holders and inhabi
tants of St. Simons Island, comparing the
present state of their society with what it has
been, feel deeply mortified at its present deg
radation.
They have to lament that their former char
•acter for respectability has been impaired ; that
they have been exposed to the ridicule of the
community ;. that their property has been de
teriorated in value, and that their happiness has
suffered' a shock of a most fatal character.
These are evils that have become so intol
erable, that a proper respect for themselves
and public opinion, and the instinctive princi
ple of self preservation, require that they*
should, by a public declaration, shew their dis
approbation of those acts which have led to
such a degraded state of society ; and that they
should endeavor to prevent a repetition of
them, by legal coertion, and the full moral in
fluence of the whole community.
They would in the first place express their
unqualified disapprobation of the recent pub :
locations in hand bills and newspaper* of dial
lenges for duels, given and received in open
contempt of our laws, conveyed in language so
indecorous, and containing conditions so bar
barous and ferocious as to reflect disgrace on a
civilized community.
They would recommend that the members j
of our society, who have been concerned in
*ueh publications, be prosecuted.
The late lamented renconter that took place
at Brunswick between Mr. John A. Wylly and
Doct. Thomas F. Hazzard,and which termina
ted in the death of the former, being now un
der judicial investigation, the decorous respect
due to the laws of the country prevents the un
dersigned from giving, at present, any declar
ation of opinion with respect to it.
They cannot however repress the expression
oftbeir grief that by that act, one of their most
respected citizens has been consigned to an un
timely fate, and a blighting misery inflicted on
a most worthy family consisting of an aged
and amiable lady and her daughters.
They cannot too pointedly advert to the fact,
that had the only Justice of the Peace on this
Island discharged his duty, such a misfortune
would not have happened. They therefore
recommend that he be prosecuted for mal
practice in office and neglect of duty; unless
he previously resigns his commission.
They would notice the circumstance that
strangers and aliens of doubtful character have
established themselves at Frederica, and sub
sist by illegal trafic with slaves, and would re- j
commend that they be prosecuted.
They would strongly express their indigna- !
tion that strangers, aided by some members of j
this community, have attempted to run up;
lands set apart "for useful public purposes, and
held by public bodies under the authority of
the State for a period far beyond that prescrib
ed by the law.
They would particularly notice, that follow- |
ing so bad a precedent, a certain Mrs. Gather- |
ine Blue has made a sacriligious attempt to j
run up the Church lands on this Island, vested
by the Legislature in the Wardens and Vestry
men of Christ’s Church, and which now are |
and have been in the undisputed possession of j
that corporate body for above thirty years. |
Such attempts to wrest from public bodies of:
useful character, the endowments conferred
on them at a remote period, being equally bold
and unjust, they recommend that all legal
means by suits against the trespassers, and the
Surveyor, be resorted to in order to defeat them.
And whereas it appears that society has be
come so depressed, that the Church bibles and
prayer books are no longer safe in our Church,!
Ihey recommend their removal, and that of the
pulpit and altar ornaments and the communion
cups, to some place of safety, until Mrs. Blue's
survey is decided, and un*d th* Rector re
lU\Ve, the subscribers, do hereby nominate
and appoint John Couplr, Robkrt Grant
and James Gould, a Standing Committee, to
watch over and attend to the interests of our
Island, with power to call a meeting of the in
habitants whenever they may deem it neces
sary And we pledge ourselves to support
them in all the legal prosecutions herein re-,
commended.
We also request the above named Committee
to forward, under their signatures, copies of
this expression of our feelings and opinions,
for publication in the Brunswick Advocate,
(Savannah Georgian and Savannah Republi-’
fa r Signed by manv of the inhabitants of St.
Simons, the names’of whom were accidentally
omitted to be forwarded to us. Ed. Adv.J
Witness our hands this 16th day of Decern
her 1 6-68 JOHN COUFER,
ber, ROBERT GRANT,
dec2 7_4w JAMES GOULD.
Irish seed Potatoes.
-w aw’x BBLS. Irish Seed POTATOES, of
Illt I a superior quality, for sale by
Nov 20 RICE, PARKER & CO
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING, IN THE CITY OF BRUNSWICK, GLYNN COUNTY, GEORGIA.
BRUNSWICK, GEORGIA, SATURDAY MORNING, JANUARY 19, 1839.
POETR Y.
“PAST YEAR, FAREWELL!”
■ T PARK BENJAMIN.
Past year, farewell! Beneath the solemn pall
That hides the buried ages, thou art sleeping!
I see Time's lengthening shadows darkly fall
Upon thy tomb; and, like a mourner keeping
His vigil in some solitary hall,
Through which the deep, slow dirge of
Night is sweeping,
Alone I wander, where the cold moon-rays
Shine like the glory of departed days.
Alas/ alas/ my dreams of youth have faded,
Like the fresh roses of the vanished Spring;
| My Summer-fruit, by clouds of sorrow shaded,
I Upon th’ unkindly ground lies withering;
By subtle frost my Autumn-shears pervaded;
And the swift blasts of Winter rudely fling
Fair flower, rich fruit, and golden crested !
grain, !
Like priceless stubble, on the snowy plain.
Within thy shroud, oh year/ what griefs are
hidden/
Inurned with thee, what ruined hopes oon
qealed/
Ties rent that seem'd eternal; kindness chidden
From hearts to which Love’s beauty was re
. vealed;
Light, laughing joys and gay emotions bidden
To be in long, unbroken silence sealed.
But these sad visions let me not recall,
Nor idly strive to lift thy solemn pall.
Speed, speed, lost seasons, to the boundless
main/
Uncounted multitudes too soon must pass, .
Subjects, like you, of Death's perpetual reign;
Ye shall together mingle with the mass
Os special shapes, that oft in gloomy train
Glide o’er the face of Fancy’s magic glass/
Deep threugh the Earth resounds your funer
al knell,
And Nature sighs, in mournfpl gales, fare
well/ [New Yorker.
MISCELLANY.
The Bayonet a harmless Weapon.
The bayonet may, in full truth, be termed
the grand mystifier of modern tactics. I
here appeal publicly to the most experienc
ed officers of the army, to those who
fought, as many really did, in Egypt, the
Peninsula, and Waterloo, and ask, whether
any one of them ever beheld a bayonet
contest? Did they ever, on field or beach,
on plain or rampart behold men thrust
and conterthrust at each other with their
bayonets? That in some scrambling at
tack of works, or hasty flight out of works
or villages, a soldier may perhaps have
been killed or wounded with a bayonet is
possible, but to suppose that soldiers ever
rushed into close combat, armed only with
bayonets, is an absurdity, it never happen
ed and never can happen. Has any one
of the officers appealed to come forward
to contradict me? No; not one. During
the nine campaigns here spoken of, we
were opposed to the bravest and most ex
perienced soldiers of contending Europe,
and the actions fought between the con
tending parties may safely be looked upon
as, in the mass, the most sanguinary and
determined ever fought with modern arms;
fought, too on every species of ground—
on level, plain and mountain top, amid the
precipices of the Pyrenees, in the corn
fields of Flanders, and on the sternly
guarded ramparts of the Spanish fortresses.
Every mode of combat was resorted to,
every efficient weapon placed in the sol
dier’s hand was called up to furnish its
quota of victims towards paying the Mo
loch price of modern victory. Round
and grape strewed the affrighted earth
with the mangled corses of the children,
the millions of musket balls showered
through clouds of smoke, from host to
host, failed not, with time and toil, to
bring their unhappy thousands to the
ground; the sabres of the cavalry were of
ten dyed with the blood of the brave: but,
amid the wildest scenes of slaughter, the
bayonet shone innoxious; undimined by
human gore, its brightness served but to
illustrate the most lamentable delusion
that was ever allowed to press upon an en
tire profession. No British officer ever
has yet asserted that, during these cam
paigns, he had ever seen victory achieved,
results decided, or men overthrown by
bayonet thrusts; and this silence, after such
a contest, maintained against such adver
saries, will hardly fail to satisfy unbiased
minds as to the real military value of the
bayonet.—[United Service Journal.
A good Anecdotf.. —A gentleman was
invited into one of the towns of Massa
chusetts to lecture on temperance. Sever
al days previous to the time appointed
general information was given to all the
inhabitants of the town, and it created con
siderable excitement. The friends of
temperance were glad of it, but the runt
sellers and drinkers were exasperated.—
At length the time for commencing the
lecture came, and the house was well fill
ed. Soon after the service commenced,
I the door opened and in came one of the
principal tavern keepers in the town, ac-
companied by a miserable and squalid
looking individual, beastly intoxicated.—
They marched up the aisle, and took their
seats near the pulpit, direct in front of the
lecturer. The speaker in his discourse,
portrayed the awful consequences of in
temperance, enlarged upon the iniquity of
the traffic, and appealed to the audience to
make every exertion to rout the monster
from the land. He grew warm and ani
mated, and pressed home the truth to the
i hearts and*consciences of his hearers.—
'During this time, the tavern keeper sat
! mute, but it could be seen by his coun
tenance that he did not relish what was
said. Not so his companion, for when
the speaker said any thing that was cut
ting or severe, he would mutter out, “It’s
false,” “that’s a lie,” “there is no truth in
it,” and such kindred expressions, till fin
ally he fell asleep, and gave good evidence
by hissnoring that he was lost to all that
was passing around him.
Very soon the lecture was finished,
when the iunkeper arose and said he wish
ed to say a few words in reply to the gen
tleman. He had been an inhabitant of
that town for many years; had endeavored
to get an honest livelihood; had minded his
own business; had never wronged his
neighbor that he knew of; and he could not
hear such vile and wicked slanders, with
out endeavoring to counteract them. If
such doctrines as had been propagated by
the speaker should become universal, there
would be an end to all society; he hoped
and trusted that the good sense of his
townsmen would not permit them to be led
astray by the delusions of temperance peo
ple. The temperance reform was all a
humbug—it was priestcraft, and all signers
to the pledge were hypocrites. He said
he would close what he had to say by ask
ing one question of the lecturer. Says
he, "Mr. , if the teetotal plan suc
ceeds what ate we going to do with our
apples, our rye, our oats, and our barley?
Yes, I say, what are we going to do with
our barley, our oats, our rye, and our ap
ples? Yes, Mr. Speaker, that’s the qies
tion to be settled, what are we going to
do with our oats, our barley, our apples,
and our rye?” He became highly excited,
and after repeating the question several
times, with more earnestness than before,
he at the top of his voice (and giving his
hat, which he held in his hand, a twirl
through the air, hit his sleeping compan
ion across the face) reiterated the question
for the twentieth time. “What, say I, are
we going to do with our apples, our
rye, our barley, and our oats?” and sat
down. The old fellow who had been a
sleep awoke from the blow he received,
and thinking it came from the lecturer,
grumbled out. “Why, fat your hogs with i
them, you old fool!” The audience were
convulsed with laughter, and the tavern
keeper rushed from the house, chagrined
and mortified. [Pawtucket Gazette.
Sir Richard Steei.e. —Sir Richard
Steele desired Mr. Savage to come very ear
jly to his house one morning. Mr. S. came
ias he had promised, found the chariot at
| the door, and Sir Richard waiting for him,
' and ready to go out. What was intend
ed, or where they were to go, Savage
\ could not conjecture, and was not willing
to inquire, but immediately seated himself
! with Sir Richard. The coachman was
l ordered to drive, and they hurried with the
utmost expedition to Hyde Park Corner,
; where they stopped at a pretty ale-house
and retired to a private room. Sir Rich-
I ard then informed him that he intended
!to publish a pamphlet, and that he had
I desired him to come thither that he might
write for him. They soon sat down to
the work. Sir Richard dictated and Sav
age wrote, till the dinner that was order
ed had been put upon the table. Savage
was surprised at the meanness of the en
tertainment, and, after some hesitation,
ventured to ask for wine which Sir
Richard, not without some reluctance
ordered to be brought. They then fin
ished their dinner and proceeded in their
pamphlet, which they concluded in the
afternoon. Mr. Savage then imagined
his task over, and expected that Sir Rich
ard would call for the reckoning and re
turn home; but he was deceived, for Sir
Richard told him that he was without
money, and that the pamphlet must be
sold before the dinner could be paid for
and Savage was therefore obliged to go
and offer to sell the new production for
two guineas, which with some difficulty
he obtained. Sir Richard then returned
i home, having retired that day only to
avoid his creditors, and composed the
pamphlet to discharge his reckoning.
“lou mus’nt smoke here, sir,” said the
captain of a North River steamboat to a
man wlkj was smoking among the ladietf
on the quarter deck. ‘Mus’nt, hey!—whv
not?’ replied he, opening his capacious
mouth and allowing the smoke lazily to
escape. ‘Did’nt you see the sign—alt
gentlemen are requested not to smoke a
baft the engine?’—‘RJess you, that don’t
mean me I’m not a gentleman—not a
hit of it. You can’t make a gentleman of
me no how you can fix it.” So saying, he
sucked away, and‘took the responsibility.’
VELASCO,
a Tragedy, by epes sargent, esq.
EXTRACTS FROM ACT IV. SCENE I.
Velasco. —Thou hast heard all which can
extenuate
The perpetration of the deed we mourn:
Oh! wilt thou not believe, that when mine arm
Was raised to strike, my heart was torn with
anguish?
That I did love thee better at that moment,
While severing the tie between our fates,
Than when exulting hope was all my own ?
Ixidora. —Call it not love, Velasco; hadst thou
loved,
Thou sooner wouldst have died a death of
shame
Than, brought this weight of misery upon me.
Velasco. —Oh/ sound the dreary depth of my
despir,
Then, if thou canst, measure my houndless
love.
Ixidora. —Call’st thou that love which pride
can subjugate?
Which can be quell'd by what the world call
honour,
Or made to yield even by filial duty?
No ! to all these true love is paramount!
Velasco. —Oh! my fair name had been for ever
lost,
If 1 had tamely borne the unmeasured insult.
Ixidora. No! One appealing word had
wrought compunction,
In the offender’s heart; but Pride withheld
thee.
A human victim was the sole oblation
Which could appease thy Moloch! and re
venge
Was dearer to thee than the hope of love!
More sacred than thy plighted faith to her,
Who to thy trust gave all her happiness!
Oh ! what a reckless steward hast thou been!
Velasco. —Could 1 behold a venerated father
Crush'd by a sense of unrequited wrong.
Wasted by stricken pride and wounded hon
our,
And with the power to save deny redress?
Ixidora. —Thou dost but point the sting of
mine own conscience.
If to redress a blow, thy sacrifice
Was the aggressor's life, what should be mine,
Who have a father's slaughter to avenge!
Velasco. —Oh ! worse than death thou dost
inflict on me,
Now by thy hate.
Ixidora. —My hate!
Velasco. —Thou dost not love me?
Ixidora. —Love thee? oh, no ! I should not,
would not love thee—
I will fly from thee—
Velasco. — Stay! before we part—
Which parting is forever—may we not
Forget the sad divulsion of our fates,
And sail together down the sunny past!
Ixidora. How every tone brings back the
happy days!
I ft;ar ’tis sin to listen—but there is
Such sweet enchantment in ti—
Velasco. — 'Tis in vain!
I cannot rid me of the recollection,
Thou art a passive victim: I, alas'
I was the scourge, the awful instrument!
Ixidora. — Canst thou recall not that delicious
twilight,
When ventrous children, careless of time's
lapse,
We traversed in a skiff' the wood girt lake.
While from the rosy west, the drooping clouds,
Ensanguined banners of the captive day,
Threw o'er the purple wave their glowing
shadows?
Velasco. —l can but sigh for what we might
have been!
Ixidora. — And memory need not travel far
to bring
That hour; when we two parted light of heart,
In the near prospect of a joyous bridal.
Oh! little did we dream, that ere we met
Strange horror would disjoin us!
Velasco. —Oh ! forget!
Or ere we part, vouchsafe one last embrace.
Ixidora. — Forbear! This is impiety, Velasco.
Tis not for thee to clasp me. Think! my father
Dying he drew from me a sacred oath,
And, as a legacy bequeath'd this dogger!
Velasco. — My heart leaps to it! Strike, and
do not quail—
Now. ere thy purpose flag—strike! I will bless
thee!
[ VAr raises it, as if to strike him—hr ex
tends his arms, inciting the blow,
whereupon she drops the dagger and
rushes out.
Were I the only victim, I could brave,
Methinks, Fate's worst infliction; but my heart
Breaks when I see her suffer. I look round
For refuge, but fan find one only haven—
The quiet grave ! As if to point the way,
[Taking up the dagger.
The steel she left gleams on me! If Despair
Could ever justify self sacrifice,
Now’s the occasion, when my forfeit life
Is claim'd by her, to whom it was devoted.
A sinew’s quick contraction and 'tis done!—
No, no, Velasco! 'tis a weary march!
And many droop and falter by the way,
And many, treading in forbidden paths,
At their great Captain's sacred laws rebel—
But the good soldier still maintains his post;
Obeys, and presses forward to the last;
While on the streaming flag that marshals him,
And lifts the emblem of his faith, lie reads,
By THIS SIGN SHALT TIIOI' CONQUER! [Exit.
The following passages are selected at ran
dom from different scenes:
LOVE.
Isidora. — Tell me what love in; j
And in all candour, I will answer thee.
Julio. —A cloud steep'd in the sunshine! An ,
illusion,
On which concentrate Passion's fiercest rays!
Your lover’s little better than & Pagan:
On the heart's shrine he rears a human idol;
Imagination heightens every charm,
Brings down celestial attributes to clothe it,
And dupes the willing soul, until, at length,
He kneels unto a creature of the brain—
A bright abstraction! But the cynic, Time, j
Who holds the touchstone to immortal Truth,
Soon laughs him out of the prodigious folly! j
Say, art thou one of these idolaters?
A BRIDAL.
Carlos —'Twill be a joyous bridal! Even ;
the skies, j
Are flaunting in their robes of festival,
To the nuptials of the brave and fair! |
All Burgos is in motion; and the streets
Are spann'd by arches, and bestrewn with
garlands,
Balconies gleam with tapestry and flow ers, I
And columns rise, flashing W'itll Shields and j
holms,
And tw ined with olive branches Oh’ 'twill be
A braver wedding than the world e'er saw.
What shows and banquets shall we have!
TIME.
Julio. —Oh! let not that assure thee. Tune,
my sister,
' Is not content with marring outward charms;
His deepening furrows reach the spirit’s core,
They spoil the soul of many an airy grace—
Hpoe’s gilded temples sink beneath his touch;
Joy's buds of promise wither at his frown!
REMORSE.
Velasco. —l lay my*brow against tho marble
rock,
1 hold it thobhing to the dewy grass —
There is no coolness in thu summer rain!
The elements have lost their attributes.
The oaks are shiver'd round me, in the blaze
Os the near lightning, as it burst the folds
Os its black cerements, but no gracious bolt
Blasts me or scathes! A wilder storm is here!
The fiery quiver of the clouds will be
Exhausted soon—the hurricane will sink;
And, through the vista of the western clouds,
Tlie slant rays of the setting sun will stream —
And birds, on every glistening bough, will hail
The refluent brightness of the freshen’d air;
But when will pass away from this sad heart
The cloud of the tempest of remorse?
Courts of Justice in Havana. —ln
the county there are petty tribunals of
limited jurisdiction, but all large matters,
whether of crime or litigation, must be
brought to the cities, where open courts be
ing unknown, the judges sit in their cham
bers undisturbed by wrangling lawyers, or
stupid jurors, and pronounce decrees
against persons whom they neither see nor
hear. The first process, upon the arrest
of a criminal, is to commit him to jail,
where his declaration is taken down by a
notary, who also takes down the deposi
tions of the witnesses. At a “convenient
season” these documents are laid before a
judge, who upon than decides the culprit’s
doom without further examination. For
merly the witnesses were also committed
to prison, lest their testimony should be
lost; but like my Lord of Durham’s de
signs for the speedy attainment of jus
tice, the system was found to he more
beautiful in conception than beneficial in
operation, for the dread of a prison so
overcome men’s natural curiosity that no
body w ould stay to w itness any refraction
of the peace. Street murders were the
most safe exploits imaginable, for from the
prospect of a rericountre all the shop keep-;
ers closed their windows and all the
spectators took to their heels.
All civil suits are also conducted in
writing, neither Plaintiff or Defendant,
lawyer or witness, appearing before the
judge, hut instead thereof, the testimony
and pleadings are committed to paper, un
til cart loads are prepared for his Honor’s
perusal. These suits are both tedious
and ruinously expensive. They have I
been known to remain in court for forty 1
years, and to cost from sixty to eighty
thousand dollars. The judges must also j
he feed, not, of course, to influence justice,
hut to facilitate business, as your New
York merchants fee the underlings of
the Custom House. Recently, a party in
litigation, had presented the arbiter with
a handsome carriage, upon learning which
the adversary presented a pair of splendid
mules, and the suit was given in his favor.
—The disappointed gentleman called to ;
enquire the grounds of such a judgement.
“Did I not” said he “present you with a
handsome carriage?” “Oh yes,” replied
the Havana Lord Eldon, gracefully wav
ing his hand, “but the mules of your op
ponent drew away tho carriage!”—[N. Y.
Express.
A falling off. The editor of the
Salisbury Watchman tells the following
excellent story. We suppose ‘Jake’ is
one of those who entertain an antipathy to
the ‘tarnal featherals.’
“Shortly previous to the last Presi
dential election, the editor of this paper
went to the ‘Hatter’s shop,’ seven piiles
off, and made a speech in favor of the
Whig candidate, Judge White. As soon
as he was done, an old friend of his took
him one side, and the following dialogue
took place : ‘Jones,’ says our friend, ‘we
don’t want to know any thing about these
men you have been talkin about, and we
don’t know how about votin for ’em. Spose
you come out yourself—every man of us
will go tor you down this way.’ ‘Why,
Jake, I aci too poor a man to hear tlie ex
penses of electioneering on such a grand
scale; my pocket would give out before I
had treated one half of the nation.’ ‘All,
that indeed!’ said our friend, and he seem
ed puzzled—he kept repeating, ‘that in
deed,’ that indeed.’ At length, starting
from his reverie, he says, ‘Well, Jones,
since you can’t offer for President, ’spose
you come out for Sheriff’ ”
More Indians. —By the Tallahassee
Watchman of the sth inst., we learn that
letters were received at that place on the
evening of the 4th giving the information
that while a party of gentlemen from Mag
nolia, were out hunting that day they
came upon a camp of Indians in that neigh
borhood. Information being immediately
sent back to town, a party of ten, started
in pursuit, and overtook them a little be-,
low Rock haven, and killed six of the par- 1
ty. They continued the pursuit, andj
drove them across the river. They are
supposed to number 39 or 40
[TERMS... ..*s IBT AX>YAJT CM.
KUaumilSS.
[From tie* National IntelTigearer.)
AFFAIRS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
The Annual Message of the Governor
to the Legislature of Pennsylvania has
reached us, aud is, as usual with the an
nual Executive communications ki so
large and populous a Slate, full of matters
of great interest to the People of that
Commonwealth. The part of il which
is of the most interest to thepuplsc gener
ally is that which relates to the recent un
successful attempt at revolution in that
State, which, whether wo consider the
authentic source of this statement, or its
intrinsic importance, and its relation to
the General Government, is entitled to be
transferred to our columus. It is as fol
lows:
Extract from the Message of the Governor to the
legislature of Pennsylvania, Dec. 27,1838.
Fellow-Citizens: The annual Mes
sage to the Legislature was prepared on
the 4th instant for presentation; but the
scenes of confusion which then commenc
ed, and which continued to digrace the
seat of Government tilt a few daya ago,
prevented its delivery. In transmitting it
now, I feel compelled, by every motive of
official duty as Chief Magistrate, and of
patriotism as a citizen, to preface it with
a brief detail of tlie facts connected with
the recent outrage, and to call upon you
as you love order and your rights, and
venerate the institutions of your country
to adopt every possible means to prevent
the recurrence of similar disorders.
On the day appointed by the Constitu
tion for the meeting of the Legislature,
tlie members of the House of Representa
tives attempted to organize that body; hut,
owing to a dispute relative to certain re
turns, two Speakers'wero chosen, and two
Houses organized. This was, however,
done peacefully, and if the members of
both branches had been left in the free
exercise of their minds and rights, the dif
ference probably would soon have been
settled. But when, in the afternoon of the
same day, tlie annual session of the Sen
ate was commenced, a mob of lawless and
daring persons were found to lie in at
tendance, who attempted to influence and
{dictate the course to be pursued by that
body. Certain members were admitted
to seats, in accordance with the known
laws of the State, but in opposition to the
will of these persons. As soon as this
was done, the lives of Senators and others
were threatened, and loud criee were
heard commanding the Senate to reconsid
er its vote, and admit other claimants to
j scats. To such height did this scandal
ous] outrage proceed, that the Senate ad
journed in confusion, and some members
of the Legislature, and others, were eoin
i polled to escape from the chamber, un
known to the mob, to save their lives.
The rioters, under their leaders, some
of whom were Federal Govermnent offi
cers, then took possession of the Senate
| Chamber, and desecrated it by their insur
rectionary harangues, in tlie course of
which, and afterwards, in other places, it
; was announced that a revolution had com
| mcuccd. They then adjourned to the
court-house, where the most inflammatory
{ speeches were made, and the most danger
ous proceedings took place. Next day,
and for some time afterwards, the Senate
did not meet, for want of a quorum—the
members not deeming it safe to appear in
their seats, or proper to attempt to legis
late in the presence of the rioters who
filled the Capitol. On the same day, also,
when one of the portions of the House of
Representatives attempted to meet, the
: member who had been deputed to act as
Speaker was prevented from taking the
S chair, and violently ejected from the hall
1 by the mob.
In the mean time, a body called a “Com
mittee of Safety” had been appointed by
the rioters, and seemed to exercise unlim
ited control over them. They made the
{most inflammatory appeals to the citizens
of the State at a distance, and, when •
small guard had been placed by the keep
er, and by my orders, in the arseael, to
prevent the.public arma (rota falling into
the hands of rash or >ll disposed persons,
they were compelled to evacuate the build
ing, under terms dictated by the mob, with
the concurrence of the “Cemihittee of
'Safety.” During the occurrence of these
disgraceful events, neither branch of the
Legislature could hold a regular session,
the Executive Chamber and Mate Depart
ment were closed, and confusion and alarm
pervaded the seat of Government,
j In this fearful state of affairs, I felt it
! my duty to issue a proclamation, calling on
all the civil authorities to exert them
selves fbr the restoration of law and order,
and on the militia to keep in
instant readiness to march to the seat of
Government to suppress the violence. I
also issued an order on the Major General
of the first division of the State militia, to
1 march his command to Harrisburg forth
with, and made a requisition on the com
manding officer of the United States troops
at Carlisle, to bring his force to the aid of
the constituted authorities. At the same
time, the President of the United States
was informed of the state of affairs, and